PETS!!!!

Oh, poor baby, that must have hurt! Ours went through a phase of chewing on our garden hoses. Every time we turned the hose on, we had a new place to patch where he had turned it into a sprinkler hose.

One time our dogs were wrestling each other and one got his lower jaw wrapped around the other one's collar. The one who's collar was twisted couldn't breathe and luckily the other one was yelping rather loudly and I ran outside to un-twist them. It was a lucky day, though, because normally I wouldn't have been home at that time of day and just happened to have a change of schedule. If I hadn't been there, I think the one what was breathless would have suffocated eventually (and painfully).

It has been hard for me to post here, even read having just buried Delilah, she was up there in years and certainly the boss over all cats and would gladly let them know. She was a sour puss albeit, but was one of a kind. Both she and her littermate ...

... HoniBelle I found in the grass abandoned by their mom. Honi had maggots on a wound on her back and both were TINY, maybe 4 inches long. HoniBelle is named for the mineola tangelo that is my fave orange from Florida. She is an orange tabby obviously.

KoiKat was a super friendly kitten again outside. She was pregnant and gave birth to 7 kitties. Super freindly, but also super spastic. Fave nickname is "Kramer Kat" because she is like Kozmo Kramer on Seinfled. Her front paws have extra toes, forget what that is called at the moment, but when she spars with other cats, it ike she is wearing boxing gloves and the sound is even reminiscent of the sound boxing gloves make when hitting an opponent.

Bear is a black cat and one of the 7 offspring of Koi. He is pretty grouchy generally and likes to swat anyone walking by him, usually drawing blood. He is a talker and will gladly carry on a conversation. He is also the biggest scaredy cat I have ever seen.

End chapter one ...

Chapter 2 ...

Honi Belle from chapter 1 is not doing well these days. She is Delilah's (who passed at my last writing) litter mate. Honi has had a long good life and is not in any pain. But she is not eating.

Next up to the cat family is Gandalf (the grey) and KatiKat, brother and sister littler mates, solid greys. Gandalf is the friendliest cat on the planet I think, Kati is tiny but quite fiesty and will not back down to anyone ... she is also pretty spastic and unlike her bro' does not like to be held but will gladly sit laptop.

Lili, a pretty cally, was born with a stubby rear leg and was often picked on by others when we brought her in. She has turned that around and has moved way up on the house pecking order.

Precious, also named for LotR, is a petite white cally. She will come when called and is a clinger when held. Precious is quite a talker, though generally soft spoken.

And last of this chapter, Pyrit, so named because she had a severe eye infection before she found her way inside, her one eye is glazed pretty badly. She is the house treat cat and makes her way to the tea table almost everyday, but not for tea. She likes to be held, but will always pretend quite the opposite by seemingly pushing away with one leg, but she is not fooling me anymore.

I renamed Snoopy to Mauser, however I can see why he was named Snoopy (he's a real snoop - even after the initial introductory phase). He's still a little congested and sneezy from the upper respiratory infection, but is much better than he was. I just moved and he seems to be much more comfortable here than he was at the last place. I don't know if it's just timing (he did seem to be getting along better in the days before the move), if it's the place, if it's because the new place doesn't smell like a dog and 2 other cats that he can't find (which is probable), or the noise level (he gets startled by sudden noises and this place has a lot more background noise to drown out small sounds), but he is noticeably calmer and more comfortable. He and Sid have also finally gotten used to each other. I had let Mauser out of isolation (from being sick) in late December or early January, so it's been a couple months.

Amazingly, Sid never got too upset about Mauser's presence; he never tried to stalk or attack Mauser and never really objected to him. I did try to make the introductions slowly, letting them see and sniff through the cracked-open door and such, but when I let Mauser out Sid would just sit and watch him with wide-open eyes that seemed to suggest that he wanted to be friends. Sid would hiss and swat at him if he came too close, but otherwise not a peep. They proceeded like that for a while and eventually seemed to settle into rather separate lives, although they would conspire to kill me every time they wanted to eat.

Since being here, however, they have both been hanging out on my bed, usually at least 6-10 inches apart but facing each other. During the move I sat their carriers facing each other and that actually seemed to help Mauser a bit (Sid's been through too many moves to care). A couple days ago I started hearing squawks and yelps from Mauser and was afraid they weren't getting along, but then just last night I was in the kitchen and Mauser started grooming Sid - breakthrough! Since then I've been seeing them start to play together - the squawks resulting from grooming that turns to biting. They can also now both curl up with me at the same time, which could never happen before.

Sid also seems much happier, so I once again seem to have a happy family Now I just need to finish getting fully unpacked so that they will have places to hang out other than the bed, and I will have a happy home to go with the family.

My beloved dog Zappa (named after Frank, of course) died in October last year. He was an Irish Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and got the PLE sickness when he was close to eight years old. It was an unusually severe case of PLE and the lived only some months after getting the first sympthoms, even though he ate only special food and got lots of medication. The Softie Breeders club here in Sweden refused to acknowledge that he had PLE though, I'm still very angry at them for not wanting to take this problem seriously and instead trying to hiding it

Anyway, in february we got our new dog, a mixed breed this time. She is 8 months, huge, black and named Diva (after Frank's first daughter). We got her neutered one week ago and it has went perfectly well. She is so lovely and I could not live without her!

Our cat Vannis is not liking her that much though. He is 12 years old and now an indoor cat because he always fought with the other cats and got hurt so often. So his nose and ears are quite teared up. He has a stone growing in his chin and I'm afraid it will some day be troublesome for his eating and breathing, but so far he's doing fine. Sadly the vets does not want to remove a stone on such an old cat.

Here is a picture of the newest member of my family. We adopted him in January. His previous owners decided that they wanted to travel so they were giving him away. The lady who grooms our other dog asked Mom if she wanted him and the following day, Mom came home with a second dog. His name is Duffy. He is a year and a half old West Highland White Terrier, very sweet and cuddly, except when he sees squirrels, chipmunks, or strange cats. He is still getting used to our cats, but he is getting better with them.

I have had everything from snakes and lizards to horses. we currently have 5 cats and 1 dog. we will be getting a second dog once we move in to a larger house. I can tell you that cats are much easier than dogs. we have gone on vacation for 5 days before and left them a bucket of food and 2 extra litter boxes. they were fine the dog was at a friends house for the week.

I am a dog person but i have grown quite attached to her cats.

I especially like her PIXIE BOB and Ocicat.

Very cool cats. I have never had cats that like to swim and play in the water.... they are like little tigers

What great pets! and a great thread- I am enjoying meeting everyone's special friends. And I would not believe a cat in water!!

I introduced Indy on another thread not realizing we had this one. He turned 12 at the beginning of Feb- we adopted him in Aug 2001 at 4 1/2. He's an ex-racer retired because of a muscle injury in his back leg. That never bothered him but his arthritis does- he has it pretty bad in his hips but still able to get around- in fact weather permitting he's marching in a St Patty's Day parade this sat. He love marching in this parade and will most likely be asking to do it again on sun!

tjausti wrote:I have had everything from snakes and lizards to horses. we currently have 5 cats and 1 dog. we will be getting a second dog once we move in to a larger house. I can tell you that cats are much easier than dogs. we have gone on vacation for 5 days before and left them a bucket of food and 2 extra litter boxes. they were fine the dog was at a friends house for the week.

I am a dog person but i have grown quite attached to her cats.

I especially like her PIXIE BOB and Ocicat.

Very cool cats. I have never had cats that like to swim and play in the water.... they are like little tigers

similar to ours

How big is the pixie bob? Many people market them as bobcats and I think someone I know has 2 that are over 25 lbs each. I think she walks them around on a leash too. I want a lynx but I think they are illegal. A rescued pixie bob is hard to find but on my list. I never knew they swam. Very impressive considering I have a basset which makes a better anchor than a raft.

Cinnamon Kitty wrote:Here is a picture of the newest member of my family. We adopted him in January. His previous owners decided that they wanted to travel so they were giving him away. The lady who grooms our other dog asked Mom if she wanted him and the following day, Mom came home with a second dog. His name is Duffy. He is a year and a half old West Highland White Terrier, very sweet and cuddly, except when he sees squirrels, chipmunks, or strange cats. He is still getting used to our cats, but he is getting better with them.

I cannot comprehend giving away your animal - FOR ANY reason. Travel?
I am very glad this poor doggie found a loving home and doesn't comprehend that
after all his loving devotion, someone just gave him away.
I hope he is a blessing to your family for many years.

tjausti wrote:I have had everything from snakes and lizards to horses. we currently have 5 cats and 1 dog. we will be getting a second dog once we move in to a larger house. I can tell you that cats are much easier than dogs. we have gone on vacation for 5 days before and left them a bucket of food and 2 extra litter boxes. they were fine the dog was at a friends house for the week.

I am a dog person but i have grown quite attached to her cats.

I especially like her PIXIE BOB and Ocicat.

Very cool cats. I have never had cats that like to swim and play in the water.... they are like little tigers

similar to ours

Oh a Pixie Bob was what I was considering when I went with my Tonkinese. But the Tonks rated higher in compatability and I had a cat with special needs. But guess what? My other cat hated him and they NEVER got along. I hope I will own a Pixie Bob one day.

Cinnamon Kitty wrote:I cannot comprehend giving away your animal - FOR ANY reason. Travel?I am very glad this poor doggie found a loving home and doesn't comprehend thatafter all his loving devotion, someone just gave him away.I hope he is a blessing to your family for many years.

Victoria wrote:I cannot comprehend giving away your animal - FOR ANY reason. Travel?I am very glad this poor doggie found a loving home and doesn't comprehend thatafter all his loving devotion, someone just gave him away.I hope he is a blessing to your family for many years.

I can't either! So glad he has a new loving home.

Supposedly the rest of the story is that he was originally adopted as a puppy to replace an older dog that has passed away, but then the owners, who were both retired, couldn't keep up with his energy level and decided that they wanted to travel so they just gave him to us through our contact with the groomer. He was kept in a crate all day when his owners were at work, which was awful. Surprisingly, he has a great disposition, very inquisitive, just wants to play, loves fetching a ball, and is a great lap dog. He also does the really cute puppy head tilt when you talk to him. We've been more than happy to have him.

How big is the pixie bob? Many people market them as bobcats and I think someone I know has 2 that are over 25 lbs each. I think she walks them around on a leash too. I want a lynx but I think they are illegal. A rescued pixie bob is hard to find but on my list. I never knew they swam. Very impressive considering I have a basset which makes a better anchor than a raft.

When ours was younger and more "fit" he was solid muscle around 30lbs he is now a little flabby and about 25lbs. he is considerably larger than a normal cat. very tall and wide. like a little bulldog. he is the best cat we have ever owned. he acts more like a dog and is great with our child (2 years old now). Christopher actually sleeps on this cat like a pillow. Ralph has also been known to pounce the bath toys while Christopher is in the tub... (the cat like to be in the tub with the little guy).... he makes an awful mess but is super cute . The cat will play with him very gently just bumping him around and chasing him never getting frustrated with our little one. even though Christopher enjoys pulling on ears and what little tail Ralph has, he never growls or makes any move towards the little guy. he is a very sweet cat.

Ralph is also a very intelligent cat. for example he locks the other cats in the bathroom from time to time. He will smack a ball in their then after another cat goes in he will push the door shut. he then proceeds to play with the feet that poke out from under the door. we could not figure out how they kept getting locked in until we saw him do it one day. we would come home and 3 out of the 5 cats are locked in the bathroom.... we were like, How do you little idiots keep doing this ?!?!

(RALPH with Christopher)

I will have to find an old winter pic of him. he gets shaggy long hair like the pic in my previous post. He did not get the hair for the last few years as he has been an indoor only cat for about half of his life now. apparently their body does not react to the weather as much after they have been indoors for a few years.

Here is Christopher with Ralph (Little man is around 12 months old in this pic)

thats a full size 2 year old

as far as lynx's go My parents have a 50, 50 mix (bobcat, maine-coon<sp>) that is registered as a wild cat. they had to apply for a license to keep him as a pet. I would imagine lynx's would fall under this same category. I know you can buy them in NY(Long Island, My Home town). I have seen them in exotic pet shops.

BOB (BOBCAT/MAINECOON)

He is also a very sweet cat although he is very very sneaky and loves to mess with their other cats. stalking them and such. The other cats start screaming when he stares them down.... Bob is a very cool cat and is now 18 years old (in that pic)
He has a very good demeanor but is still a little crafty. he like to steal things like keys and cell phones and hide them.